Welcome to another edition of Carol's Corner. Where has this month gone to? Can't believe Christmas is less than a week away. Really like the ensemble I wore in this picture. This is one of the first blouses I bought after losing weight. I bought two others in totally different color combos. The winner for naming this ensemble is Catherine Warner with, “Rocking All Over The World.”

 

 

The jewelry I wore for this is a set I made specifically to go with this top. It pulls in most of the color's in the blouse. For some reason the color of my FitBit band did not come out properly. It is a light Aqua. It looks almost white in this picture. Also you'll see another of my custom designed rings that a jewelry artisan made me. I love all of them.

Then I was able to tie in some other color's from the blouse with the clasp covers.

 

 

 

 

 

Finally got my ring back. Boy did I miss it.

Has the always busy holiday season caused you higher levels of stress and anxiety? If you're like a lot of people chances are that it already has. This is one of the most beautiful times of the year with all the colorful decorations every where the eye can see. But it can also be stress and anxiety ridden. In fact this is also a time when depression rears it's head for some. I love the holidays but this month seems to have been a major stress on me. I was sick for over two weeks, which put me behind in everything. Thank goodness I finally managed to get everything done I needed to do but, it majorly stressed me out. And being sick I couldn't use exercise as a stress reliever. Just when everything seemed under control I got hit with something that has thrown me for a loop. Yesterday I received word that my license has been suspended for at least three months because of my accident. I'm already pretty depressed about it, but somehow I have to get through the next three months and pray they reinstate it. So what do we do when stress and anxiety or depression hits?

 

 

 

 

 

 

You guessed it. Exercise is the #1 stress reliever. Exercise releases endorphins in the brain that are linked to feelings of happiness. So one of the best ways to fight the 'Triad' of stress, anxiety and depression is to get on the exercise wagon. There are so many benefits to exercise and it should be one of the main tools in your arsenal. Except during sickness, I will force myself to work out even if I don't feel like it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whenever stress rears it's ugly head, let exercise be your first line of defense. When we're going through a rough time, and I am personally right now, emotional eating is usually a major problem for most of us. I know my situation right now is going to impact my life in so many ways and I have to try and not let things spiral further out of control because of it. Exercise is going to play a major role now, more than ever.

 

 

 

Here are some great tips to help you reduce stress. You might want to copy this,print it out and put it in a location that you will see this often. There are some really useful suggestions here. In this journey we need all the help we can get. I don't have time enough to make this a longer post, but I hope you will find this helpful. So I'd like to close with this.

 

 

More great words of wisdom here. I hope you will turn to this whenever you find your stress and anxiety levels negatively affecting your journey. We can do this. Be strong, be focused , and above all be happy. Till next time, God Bless.